Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Local Legislative Campaign Finance Reports

Perhaps due to the lopsided Democratic majority in the Santa Fe area, most local legislators got a free ride this year.

Sens. Nancy Rodriquez and Peter Wirth, as well as Jim Trujillo and Brian Egolf, had no primary opposition and no general election opponents this year. Carl Trujillo, who won a hard-fought primary against Santa Fe Mayor David Coss to represent House Speaker Ben Luján’s old district, is unopposed in November.

The only lawmaker from the city to get a general election opponent is Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela, a Democrat who faces Libertarian Bob Walsh. Walsh has said his main purpose in running is to draw attention to Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor.

Varela raised more than $6,000 in the last month and has more than $67,000 cash on hand. Walsh raised no money in the last reporting period. According to his previous report, he had no cash on hand.

There is some competition in districts that include parts of Santa Fe County.

Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, raised more than $15,600 in the past month and has more than $22,000 cash in hand. His biggest contributors were the Committee on Individual Responsibility, a trial lawyers PAC, which gave $5,000, and New Mexico Realtors Political Action Committee, which gave $2,000.

Griego’s Republican opponent, Aubrey Dunn Jr. of Alamogordo, raised more than $19,000 this reporting period — $10,000 of which was a loan from himself. He has more than $18,000 cash on hand. His biggest contributions were $1,500 from Senate Republican Leader Stuart Ingle’s campaign and $1,500 from the Lincoln C0unty Republican Party.

In the hotly contested House District 43, Republican incumbent Jim Hall, R-Los Alamos — who was appointed by Martinez to fill the term of former Rep. Jeannette Wallace, who died last year — collected $11,000 in the last month, and has a cash balance of $52,000 as of Monday. Early this year, Hall loaned his campaign $36,000.

His biggest contribution in this month’s report was $2,300 from House Republican Leader Tom Taylor’s campaign committee. Hall also received $1,200 from Santa Fe Federated Republican Women and $1,000 each from fellow Republican House member Nate Gentry, Yates Petroleum of Artesia and Progress New Mexico, a political action committee whose treasurer is Rep. Jimmie Hall, R-Albuquerque — no relation to the Los Alamos Hall.

Hall’s Democratic challenger, teacher Stephanie Garcia Richard of Los Alamos, reported raising nearly $18,000 and had more than $56,000 cash on hand. Her largest contributions came from the American Federation of Teachers, which gave $5,000, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which contributed $2,000.

In District 50 — currently represented by Rep. Rhonda King, D-Stanley, who isn’t seeking re-election — consultant Stephen Easley, a Democrat, raised more than $12,000 and has $27,700 in the bank. His biggest contributors were the Santa Fe-based New Mexico Defense Fund, a PAC started by Egolf, which gave $4,000, and outgoing Speaker Luján’s campaign, which contributed $1,000.